Shivadas Glass / Awful company

First of all, I do admit to attempting to buy a water pipe from Shivadas Glass. It was for a friend of mine who has bad habits, but as a birthday present, you buy things to make people happy.

I purchased a 13 inch water pipe for about $154.00 including tax and shipping. After I clicked the 'Purchase Now' button, an e-mail is sent to me about a day later notifying me that Shivadas Glass is currently out of that type of water pipe. And the day after that, they place an 'Out of Stock' label over the product...go figure.

Now first off, it would have been so nice if they had notified me (by placing an 'Out of Stock' sign below the product) about that particular water pipe being out of stock before I had purchased it. So being patient, I let them know that it was alright and that hopefully they can ship it soon. But I had not envisioned it as being a longer wait.

Now if you want to buy a birthday present, it usually helps for it to be on time (and I wanted it to be a surprise). 2 days went by, so I grew a bit impatient because my friends birthday was soon approaching. Being the nice guy that I am, I nicely let them know that I could no longer wait and that I needed the water pipe sooner rather than later. Shivadas Glass did do an OK job at giving me the choice of canceling the purchase or waiting for the product. I wrote, 'Hey Nate, well as the days have been going by I've looked to different options and am just going to visit my local glass store to buy my glass. So if you could give me a refund for the purchase that would be greatly appreciated, sorry that I couldn't be patient but I was buying this as a gift for my friend and his birthday is soon approaching. Thanks for at least replying to my emails and hopefully I will be buying from Shivadas glass in the near future.'

Fair right? I changed my mind, but only 4 days after telling him that I still wanted it. His response was, 'Thanks for your patience until now.. We'll get a refund to you soon.' So everything seemed cool and both sides were happy, but that was the last time that I have gotten a response from Shivadas Glass. Now, this last response came on Thursday, February 19th.

Today is Sunday, March 8th and I have only been able to talk to a voicemail machine, write emails to business people who don't respond, and pay off the $154.00 credit debt without actually receiving the product I wanted (and forgive me for wanting a perfect credit score). Now tell me, is it wrong for a company that sells 'tobacco', I mean marijuana paraphernalia, to attract negative attention from it's customers? Although the business of selling water pipes and bubblers is quite fun, it is still a business and must be handled in a business manner.

All I am asking for is a little bit of help on what I can do to get back at these guys for ignoring me and keeping my $154.00 for this long. People may look at this and say, 'man it's only $154.00 get over it', but it's more than that, it's respect and the ability to confide your trust in American businesses (especially ones that undermine United States laws).

Comments

I have spent upwards of $10, 000 with Shivadas on rare exclusive pieces by some of the best glass artists in the world. I found this thread on a Google search for their company as the site appears to be down at the moment. Steve and his guys were always helpful and on time with their deliveries. They also made sure to pack all orders securely and I have never been dissatisfied with the level of service provided.

Yea dude these dudes kinda blow. I bought a pipe off them and they said it was out of stock and Id have to wait till the glass artist to make the piece. After several complaints and wainting for about 2 and a half weeks they finally said they shipped my product. They shipped it yesterday, april 13th of 2009, so i guess im stuck waiting till now.

Ive spent roughly $600-$700 over 4 orders from Shivadas.com. I never had a problem receiving an order from them. The website also does not try to 'undermine United States laws' but if thats the opinion you share, why trust them with your money in the first place? For those who do trust them(and possibly wait) they will be rewarded by nice, well crafted glass.

I am an employee of Shivadas Glass who just became aware of this review. We have contacted this customer and hopefully reached an appropriate settlement.

This business isn't all "fun", and sometimes it involves long struggles up the supply chain, where the raw materials often go out of supply so that nobody in the country can get certain parts, no matter how much they want to pay. The supplier in question has finally been able to restock on the necessary parts to make Robin's tobacco waterpipe, and it will be delivered soon. (Also all our customers agree that theyare 18+ and will not use these products for illegal purposes when they check out).

Almost all waterpipes from shivadas glass are made custom-to-order and usually take 2-4 weeks for delivery. This customer's case was extended, but we are working it out individually to hopefully salvage a good experience from the deal. The "out of stock" notice provided was exceptional to this case.. Most orders proceed smoothly from purchase, through production and delivery within 2-3 weeks.

As a relatively small internet business I think that Shivadas has been a wonderfully helpful. Obviously you don't understand what makes a good glass business. Shivadas could just roll out an assembly line of cheap mediocre glass products. Instead they make wonderful hand blown color changing glass. Your arguments for how awful of a company they are aren't very strong. First you complain that they didn't update their out of stock sign on their products fast enough. This can be annoying, but you can't really expect a small business like this to update it every minute. You also noted that this was a birthday present, if so then why couldn't you just choose another waterpipe? is it that big of a deal? Second you complain that if it is out of stock it should not be a longer wait. Are you insane? These products are works of art that have to be made, some of the waterpipes sold on their site take upwards of 5 hours to construct. And lastly, after finally making up your ###ing mind you want the waterpipe now? ok, obviously signals got crossed and you never got your refund, however in this day and age you are going to get either your money or your bong. Shivadas is very consitent on returning emails and im sure they will be more than willing to get you your bong. OH! and your last statement about how shivadas undermines united states laws is total ###, they tell you to confer with your local and state laws to make sure that what you are buying is legal. It shouldnt be their obligation to monitor every person who buys from them, a business just couldnt function that way. I love shivadas! They make great glass and everyone should buy from them

Terrible Company with customer service. They dont even know when online orders come in until you call to check on order then they make up a story of why its not shipped or made...I was told by one of the guys on sept152009 that the dude who made this specific piece was out of town for 2 weeks for bone marrow transplant. ok good for him, what a nice guy but where is the customer service telling me this when i ordered. It wasnt out of stock on website but all of a sudden I call to check on order after 2 weeks going on 3rd and now its out of stock. wtf If you want to wait a month for something and talk to some douchebags in the process this is the place for you. I'd look elsewhere for quality customer service and product.

Shivadas glass has outstanding quality products, that are hand crafted by the top glass blowers in the NW. Dealing with "Artists" can be a real pain and I think Steve at Shivadas does a great job. People need to understand that Steve does his best to keep his customers happy, but sometimes good things come to those who wait. Buying glass isn't like buying autoparts. Steve gets his products from so many different artists that delays sometimes do occur. Shivadas is very flexible and Steve is easy to reach by Email. I wouldn't dream of shopping at a shop, Shivadas has much better quality and prices from what I've seen. Don't be so hard on small business like Shivadas, they help to support the Artists, and without them most of this glass wouldn't make it out of Oregon.

i just received a pipe from shivadas glass that was far inferior to the picture of pipe ordered.
this is an unprofessional place that obviously does not have the talent to blow real glass so they put a picture of nice pipes and bongs on website then send u a knockoff version.

they say on there site orders can take 2 to 4 weeks to fill. I do busness w shivadas regularly and nevr had a complaint! Sometimes orders take a few weeks but all internet orders are like that!The quality ofork they do is awesome! Toall you shivadas haters get over it stop trying to give shivadas a bad name because ure impatiant and hatelife and everyone aroundyuo

This is the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. They take my order then after three long weeks sent two completely different and highly inferior products. Then, I called directly to tell them of their error and was berated for several minutes, everything short of telling me F--- off. Never ever give these people money or your time you will live to regret it. Go to your local shop so you can see what you are getting. I was so outraged I just hung up on the guy as he is yelling at me. Shivadas= Crap x 100

I have sent them several emails asking nicley to at least know when it will be shipped
(website said within 4 weeks) & it said it was in stock on there website.
Not one reply at all.
(took the money off her credit card though)
This is the worst company I have ever dealt with.

I myself lived in eugene and know several glass suppliers that sell glass supplys (tubes/colors)and for shivadas to claim that some parts are hard to get is just a load of BS.

So today I look at there site and there are only spoons, no more waterpipes (says site is being updated and the contact us button is now missing with no phone # either so I am thinking WTF agian.

This is the worst company I have ever delt with:
Wont give you a answer.
Hasnt shipped my product.
Removed there contact info off there website.

Glad I'm not alone. I'm going thru the same thing with them right now. I will never give them another cent of my money and will make sure that all of the 100 something smokers I know never do, too. All I can hope is that I didn't blow 100 bucks for nothing and that it comes eventually.

Shivadas, thanks for ruining my boyfriend's birthday by withholding what I told him would an "awesome" present and not even taking the time to respond to my emails. Thanks a lot. You suck tons. FU all.

I agree with you guys 100%.. I ordered over $200 worth of stuff from these boneheads, maybe not a large amount for some, but a large amount for me..It was supposed to be a way to treat myself after all the bs this economy has taken me through, and I figured you know, since this company was the type of thang it was, these guys would be at least cool ppl.. Not so, after emailing multiple times with no response, I called like three weeks after I ordered what I did to inquire about what was going on, why I hadnt heard anything back.. Nobody called back in response to my voicemails, but some dude lazily answered later that night, proceeded to go into some rant about all the data being lost on his site (which means our info), how there was one item still being waited on in my order, etc.. The guy was pretty much a douchebag about the entire thing, and more than a week later, no items, no responses, and no more patience from me... You can try to do a chargeback with your credit card company for everybody who got screwed by these unprofessional and uncharacteristically ### stoners, although that is a lengthy process or can be and nothing is guaranteed. Maybe complaints to Better Business Bureau is possible too? These guys run a ### and shady business yea, but its still a business and so held to certain standards as such...

I ordered myself on February 22 and coughed up an extra $21 to have it delivered in 2-3 days. The item was shown in stock but now 10 days later and no pipe or way to contact these people other than email which they don't answer. I will be making sure everybody I know does not use this company for sure.

Unhappy guy- I feel your anger my friend.. Ask your issuing bank to initate a chargeback if you dont hear back from them in say a couple week's time. I just did the same and got my money back, and chargebacks make these knuckleheads look like the knucklehead wannabe hustlers that they are to their OWN issuing bank.. If these guys want to do dirty they can easily get done dirty in return, and really its not even dirty at all on our end because we just wanted to lamp and laugh with their products, and instead they got us amped.. Thats okay though, Karma is a sexy and crazy ### that visits all of us sooner or later, and if they keep this up its going to be sooner for Shivadas Glass...

Same deal here, ordered two pieces totaling $115.00 five weeks ago now. Both pieces were listed as “in stock” when I ordered. Received initial order conformation email. Credit Card was charged. Have not received merchandise. Have sent four different emails to them and no reply. Website now changed so has no contact information for company. Extremely angry and disappointed.

Ordered two pieces totaling $115.00 five weeks ago now. Both pieces were listed as “in stock” when I ordered. Received initial order conformation email. Credit Card was charged. Have not received merchandise. Have sent four different emails to them and no reply. Website now changed so has no contact information for company. Extremely angry and disappointed.

Today I finally received the two pieces I had ordered despite them never replying to attempts to contact. Both pieces are very nice, and if were not for the customer service issues I would be quite pleased with my purchase. They did come through in the end with some nice stuff.